Project Gutenberg's Stories from Pentamerone, by Giambattista Basile

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Title: Stories from Pentamerone

Author: Giambattista Basile

Posting Date: March 1, 2009 [EBook #2198]
Release Date: May, 2000

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM PENTAMERONE ***

Produced by Batsy Bybell. HTML version by Al Haines.

Stories from Pentamerone

by

Giambattista Basile

NOTE

The collection of folk-tales known as Il Pentamerone was first
published at Naples and in the Neopolitan dialect, by Giambattista
Basile, Conte di Torrone, who is believed to have collected them
chiefly in Crete and Venice, and to have died about the year 1637.

CONTENTS

1. How the Tales came to be told
2. The Myrtle
3. Peruonto
4. Vardiello
5. The Flea
6. Cenerentola
7. The Merchant
8. Goat-Face
9. The Enchanted Doe
10. Parsley
11. The Three Sisters
12. Violet
13. Pippo
14. The Serpent
15. The She-Bear
16. The Dove
17. Cannetella
18. Corvetto
19. The Booby
20. The Stone in the Cock's Head
21. The Three Enchanted Princes
22. The Dragon
23. The Two Cakes
24. The Seven Doves
25. The Raven
26. The Months
27. Pintosmalto
28. The Golden Root
29. Sun, Moon, and Talia
30. Nennillo and Nennella
31. The Three Citrons
32. Conclusion

I

HOW THE TALES CAME TO BE TOLD

It is an old saying, that he who seeks what he should not, finds what
he would not. Every one has heard of the ape who, in trying to pull on
his boots, was caught by the foot. And it happened in like manner to a
wretched slave, who, although she never had shoes to her feet, wanted
to wear a crown on her head. But the straight road is the best; and,
sooner or later, a day comes which settles all accounts. At last,
having by evil means usurped what belonged to another, she fell to the
ground; and the higher she had mounted, the greater was her fall--as
you shall see.

Once upon a time the King of Woody Valley had a daughter named Zoza,
who was never seen to laugh. The unhappy father, who had no other
comfort in life but this only daughter, left nothing untri